“It was a big effort from everybody involved to get this much donated to the schools, a really big effort,” she said.

“[The Taste of Christmas Committee] gets together each year and usually do a shopping tour. We donate that money back, whether that be to the hospital or the women’s refuge or anybody like that.

“This year we decided to get involved with most businesses [in town], who stayed open later and we did more of a market evening.”

She said the decision to donate the money to the schools this year was an easy one to make.

“We wanted to give back to the kids, and this was a way to show we appreciate them and them coming up through the ranks,” she explained.

“The schools came on board and did some dancing for us as well, and we raised $484.80 per school for their libraries to purchase books.”

The market evening was held on November 23 last year, and featured live entertainment, a jumping castle, street art, games, and a Santa Claus for photos along with special discounts from participating businesses.

They came up with a total of $2424 which was divided evenly amongst the schools.

2016 was the first time the Christmas night market idea had been tried, but chances are good that it will continue into the future.